Cassidy reflects on first Season 9 podium after stunning drive

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Cassidy reflects on first Season 9 podium after stunning drive

He had yet to find himself running in the top five so far this season, but Envision Racing's Nick Cassidy changed that on Saturday as he took second place at the inaugural Greenko Hyderabad E-Prix.

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Having started from 10th on the grid, the Envision driver managed to make the most of the battles and shunts up ahead to fight DS PESNKE's Jean-Eric Vergne for the lead right up to the final corner of the final lap. 

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Vergne, a two-time champion in the ABB FIA Formula E championship, put on a defensive masterclass to keep Cassidy behind until the chequered flag. With little usable energy left, JEV held on to achieve his 10th victory in the all-electric championship and his first since Rome, Season 7, almost two years ago.

"I had a really good car today," Cassidy expressed after the race. "Huge thanks to all my guys. I think the races this year have been pretty good."

That second-place result promoted the Envision Racing driver up to 5th in the Drivers' standings.

Having missed his first duel stages by just 0.001s, Cassidy seemed happy with the pace of his car even though he ultimately didn't make it to the Quarter-final stages of qualifying. 

"We're good in the race, and honestly, I think we are there in qualifying as well. In Diriyah and Mexico, and here, the difference between P1 and me in the duel being P5 has been two-tenths. So it is not a big margin from being fifth and starting 10 or starting on pole - our day will come."

On reflection, Cassidy also stated his sympathy for fellow Kiwi and Jaguar TCS Racing driver Mitch Evans who was wiped out of the race by his teammate, Sam Bird. Although a mistake, with Bird taking avoiding action on Sacha Fenestraz by jinking inside on the dusty run into the hairpin - the Brit having jumped a bit too eagerly for ATTACK MODE - it was a nightmare for the Jaguar team, who supply Envision with their powertrains.

BIRD CRASH LONG WEB

"I really feel for Mitch and Jaguar today because they're a great partner. They've started the season really strongly and think the package we have is very strong. I am super sorry to see them go out of the race like that."

A post-race penalty for Sebastien Buemi (Envision Racing) from third saw a double podium result for the team taken away. After receiving a drive-through penalty for an overpower infringement, the Envision team missed out on having two cars on the podium for a second time in the last four years.